SURVEY- Cables: what do you use?

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Ptron

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Starting a survey here. What cables do you use (patch, insert, mic, etc.)? Why? If uncommon, where do you get them?

I've been replacing my Hosa cables because they go shitty on me(have to wiggle the ends) constantly and drive me nuts. So far I've bought a bunch of 3ft and 1ft cables by American Cable Company from Musician's Friend for <$5each. Definitely not top notch stuff but better than Hosa. They haven't given me any trouble yet, whereas Hosas are often intermittent right out of the package. They have metal ends (as opposed to molded), Spiral shielding (wish it was braided), and they come in seven different colors, which is nice.

I've also ordered a handful of Carver insert Y-cables from Portland Music which I haven't gotten yet. They're supposed to be real nice and I should hope so for $25 apiece. I couldn't find anything in between these and the Hosa stuff which is why I'm forking out the dough. If they don't give me a hard time it'll be worth it.

Ptron
 
I just get whatever's cheapest... radio shack for rca cables, and the local music store for cheapo guitar cords... i don't think it's worth my time or money at this point to be buying $100 monster cables or anything... i have more fun crap to be wasting my money on :)
 
I've recently bought some used Monster and Mogami's.
Presently using Groove, with some Radio Whack rca's
thrown in the mix.And last but not least,some Hosa insert "Y" cables.
Oh I forgot, I have 3 balanced cables,I personally made
from scratch using the best wires,plugs and shielding I could find! I call 'em "Q-Strike" patches! What's so cool about 'em is the plastic hosing I used are purple,orange
and lime green day-glo colors which I found on Canal Street in NYC's Chinatown. They look real coool!! :)
 
Mogami, BRTB, Canare -- mostly all balanced..........

Bruce
 
i bought a arseload of mogami and made every cable i use. very good sound, and other people think you are cool for making your own.
 
Belden, Gotham, Canare, Mogami, Gepco.

Gepco for multi-pair cable like snakes (because it strips quickly and easily), ProCo if I can't get Gepco. Canare guitar cable, any of Gotham, Canare, or Mogami (in that order) for good mic cables, Belden 8762 foil-shield pair for back-of-the-rack fixed interconnect, or (if I ever somehow use the last of that 1000' spool up) probably Belden 8451/9451. And balanced all the way...
 
What skippy, no RADIO WHACK rca's!!?? And you consider your self an expert on patching!!?? Sheesh!
 
Oh, shit- you're right. I forgot about that: I do use 4 3' Rat Shack RCA cables, connected in series with little female-female splice adapters, to get the signal from the main outs to the 2-track's ins. I figure, once I've listened to the signal anyway, to hell with it. I smite my head with palm of hand, consterned. (;-)

Seriously, though- no, I actually do make my own RCA patches when I need them, also. It may seem like turd-polishing, but I like the cables to be the right length- and the Rat Shack cables are always too long, or too short, or something. I don't have much RCA stuff, anyway: two dual cassette machines for dubbing work tapes, a consumer MD deck, and a little distro amp for the headphone sends is all. So I didn't spend that much time soldering on those.

I ought to post a picture of the back of my patchbay rack. You'd get a kick out of it... I hate rope-salad, and it is altogether too easy to have the back-of-rack stuff degenerate into chaos. I'm generally not a neat or tidy person, but the back of the rack has gotta be that way or you can't maintain it. It's a sickness, I think.
 
I try to make all my own cables. I have a bunch of Canare Star Quad I use for balanced cables, and some as yet unidentified cable for unbalanced. I got both as leftovers from installing a radio station console years back. The unbalanced only says 'neoprene oxygen free copper' on it, I'm not sure what brand it is, but it seems fine. I put all Switchcraft connectors on the ends.

At this point, I do use some Cable Up cable to go to the recorder, because I haven't got around to getting the cable and making a 16 channel snake, and they were readily available at the local music store. I chose this brand over Hosa because it's made by TEAC, but I have no idea how it compares.

One thing I noticed making RCA cables is that the Switchcraft RCA connectors seem extreamly tight. I worry about using them on my recorder. Once there on I'm sure that's good, but it seems like pushing them on when there that tight could damage the input jacks on the recorder.
 
So what brand of connectors and cable are easiest to work with when making your own? I try to do a lot of my own amp work so I've soldered quite a bit, but dammit, I just can't get the hang of soldering those regular ol' 1/4 connectors. major pain in the ass.

Ptron
 
I've become quite a fan of Neutrik connectors for XLR, 1/4" TRS, and 1/4" TS applications, primarily because they have such nice strain reliefs: saves hours of heatshrinking for the 1/4" stuff. RCAs are just a pain in the ass no matter how you slice it, and they always have bad strain reliefs. I find the Switchcraft and Neutrik RCA connectors to be pretty much interchangeable...

Try 'em, you'll like 'em...
 
cables don't make one bit of difference and you're wasting your money if you have been brainwashed to think so........(exception..unless you are getting a bunch of RF noise, etc). If you are not happy with the sound coming out of your monitors, most likely it aint the cables....and you are not monitoring the source correctly.
I have never had anyone tell me my recordings sound inferior due to 20 bit converters, cheap outragously colored cables, or mastering to 16 bit. It is interesting to read about this stuff, however.

http://www.mp3.com/theupperroom
 
When your rack and board is spaghettied w/ cables and everybody's sittin around waiting to record and you're trying to set levels and deal w/compressors, eqs, etc. etc., and shit keeps going out and you're pulling you're hair out trying to find the bad patch cable and and then the one you replace it with is bad too and then an insert cable goes bad and you don't have anymore so you have to wiggle it till it works and hope it stays... it makes a difference.

I used to use all (and still use some)Hosa, Peavy or Radio Shack cables. Pretty much every one will crackle and go in and out if I wiggle the ends. I still scoff at paying for Monster($20/ft)Cable but I can't deal with the cheap shit anymore. I doubt I'll HEAR the difference but I'll go through a lot less Tylenol.

Ptron
 
Hosa and Radio Shack should merge. Then their cables would be cheaper and more disposable than ever. I'd be one happy home recorder.
 
Ptron...sorry that you've had problems trying to figure out which is the bad cable. If I run into a bad one, it gets fixed or pitched....not back in the stack of "useable ones". Yes...that would make a difference, if you keep using cables that you know are bad,... but glad to read that you doubt you'd hear a difference between "working" cables. Makes me feel I am not alone in this over advertised arena of recording gear. I usually find that the golden ears that can hear "cable polarity and the like" have recordings with a S/N of around 20dB...and a dynamic range of even less.....curious..isn't it?
 
oh yeah..almost forgot

this happens a lot at my place
 

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For Patch cables I use Rapco. The older ones I have have switchcraft ends, the new stuff has Neutrik. I also have a few unidentifiable "oxygen free copper cords" with unbalanced connections. I dunno where they came from, they are old as hell and still no problems.
For mic cables I have Conquest, Monster, Whirlwind, and if absolutly necessary I have a few AT Super Cables. (At cables Suck) I'm planing to go with Star quad soon when I get some other things in order and get a new iron, Neutrik ends they will be.
For Guitar Cables George L's. The George L's are cost effective and are superior to any thing else I've heard. those dorky little cables get the job done. I have a 30' Belden with Switchcraft ends run when I need to go from the controll room to another room.

If you don't want to make cable or spend a lot of money, I think Rapco is the way to go. I've never had a problem with the Rapco stuff.

-jhe
 
i think you are wrong. i used to use cheap cable, now i made my own, all with neutrik XLRs and 1/4". they sound better. i have more highend on my recordings, no doubt bout it. i think it is possible i will record the same sounds using the cheapo cable and my cable do a spectrum analyser in sound forge and show you that you lose highend with crappy cable. but also, you lose high end with crappy converters so that could be holding anyone back to start with.
 
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